Cookies:
¾ cup vegetable shortening
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt

Icing:
¼ cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
½ – 1½ tablespoon Almond extract (depends on how strong of an almond flavour you want)
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar
colored crystal sugar (optional)

In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt together (I use a whisk) and gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Shape dough into 1-1/2″ balls. I just rolled some dough around in my hand until it was round. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. I used parchment paper and actually sprayed a little sunflower oil on it. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool after 2 minutes.

Icing/Decorating:
In a small bowl, combine the milk, butter, vanilla and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Dip the cooled cookies into the icing. Sprinkle with colored sugars if desired. Place on waxed paper until icing is set.

1 lb ground Turkey
2 green Bell Peppers, chopped
½ Vidalia Onion, chopped
2-28 oz cans diced Tomatoes
2-15 oz cans petite diced Tomatoes
27 oz can Kidney Beans
15 oz can Black Beans
15 oz can Pinto Beans
15 oz can Garbanzo Beans
27 oz Water
2.5 oz jar Penzey’s Original Chili Seasoning
Shredded Cheese for garnish!
a giant pot & a skillet

First off, I love using Penzey’s spices. Their chili seasoning has amazing flavour! Now, first cook up the ground turkey, sprinkle a little bit of the chili seasoning on it. While that is cooking you can begin adding your tomatoes, onion, bell peppers, and beans to your pot! Save the 27 oz can to add one can of water to the pot. I like a variety of beans and flavour in my chili, so that’s why I have 4 different beans in the mix. Once the turkey is done cooking, add it to the pot. Now the fun part. I like alot of flavour as I said before, so I use alot of the chili seasoning, especially with such a large amount of chili. I use pretty much almost all of the 2.5 oz jar of chili seasoning. There’s maybe ½ an inch left at the bottom. I cook this on med to med-high heat, about a 6 for those with numbers on the dials, for about 30 min, then I turn the heat down to lowish or in between 3-4 for about 2-3 hours. After about 2-3 hours, I take it off the heat, let it cool then put it in the fridge overnight. Keep in mind you’ll want to let the chili set over night after it’s done cooking, this allows the flavour of the seasoning to soak into the beans. Trust me, it always tastes better the next day! It’s a super easy way to have yummy chili. If you want more meat, less beans by all means add more meat. I’m not a huge meat eater, so I prefer less.